Efforts to defuse Korean nuclear crisis speed up

CHINA yesterday offered to host talks between the United States and North Korea over their nuclear standoff and Russia said it planned to send a top official to key capitals to help find a diplomatic solution.

As international efforts to defuse the crisis speeded up, an Australian delegation flew to Pyongyang to discuss possible steps while senior US envoy James Kelly arrived in the Chinese capital after talks in Seoul with South Korean leaders.

Earlier, North Korea reiterated a demand for bilateral talks with the United States, a statement that appeared to hint that it, too, was looking to defuse the crisis after weeks of fiery anti-American rhetoric. Washington accuses Pyongyang of covertly developing nuclear weapons, a charge it denies.